Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Good News As The Year Ends

From Douglas Harink in his Paul Among the Postliberals:

For Paul justification or, preferably, rectification (Martyn's term) is the definitive, cosmic, apocalyptic act of the one God of Israel in Jesus Christ, whereby this God, through the death and resurrection of the Faithful One, conquers the powers which hold the nations in bondage and reconciles the world to himself, in order that he might create in Christ a new people, indeed, finally a whole new world, in which loyalty, obedience, and faithfulness to the one God of Israel is made possible among the nations in the power of the Holy Spirit. In this way God demonstrates his own justice, that is, his faithfulness to the promise which he made to Abraham to bless not only Israel but also the nations and so too the whole of creation. God's right-making faithfulness thus also calls forth and enables a corresponding right-making (justice) among the peoples of the earth; specifically it creates the theological-political space for a reconciliation between Israel and the nations, a reconciliation made concretely real and present in the baptism and table fellowship of Jews and Gentiles in the new community that hears and obeys the good news which Paul preaches.